Terror fears after LA shoot-out

An Egyptian gunman was responsible for the gun battle at Los Angeles airport which left three people dead, raising fears that the attack was terrorist related.

Investigators had earlier said they did not believe that the gun battle, in which the gunman was killed, was related to terrorist groups or the 4 July Independence Day holiday.

But at a press conference later police and FBI agents were tight-lipped about possible motives for the shooting, which came despite a massive security operation across America amid fears that al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist groups might use the holiday to mount further attacks.

The 41-year-old gunman has been named as Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, who lived in Irving, California. He is understood to have been a limousine driver. One his victims was identified last night as Jacob Aminov, 46, an Israeli diamond importer who has eight children and a pregnant wife. Mr Aminov, who lived in Los Angeles, was dropped off by friends at the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal by friends when he was fired upon. The second victim was a woman in her 20s who worked for El Al's ground staff.

El Al's chief security officer, Haim Saphir, and another guard intercepted the man, who was also carrying a hunting knife, as he ran towards the airline's ticket counter.

Mr Saphir was stabbed in the back but managed to shoot the gunman dead. Four other people were treated for minor injuries, including a 61-year-old woman shot in the foot and man said to have been pistol-whipped.

Several witnesses said that they had seen the man hanging around the airport before the shootings, which happened shortly before noon Pacific time.

Dr David Parkus, a surgeon from Texas, said the heavily-built gunman marched towards the ticket counter and began firing from around 15 feet. "He started shooting in rapid succession, about five shots," he said.

There was also a report that the gunman had been involved in a heated argument over his identity documents and that he was of Arab appearance.

Martin Pomeroy, acting police chief for Los Angeles, described the shooting as an "isolated incident", a theory backed up by city mayor James Hahn.

But Israeli officials remained unconvinced. A spokesman for the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles said: "The fact that the person chose El Al, Israel's national airline, and that the attack to place today, of all days, seems to indicate a connection.''

America has been at high alert for several days after intelligence reports indicated that terrorists might strike on the country's 226th birthday. An Algerian man trained in an al Qaeda camp inside Afghanistan was convicted last year of attempting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the Millennium.

In another incident outside Los Angeles four people died, including a young girl and a toddler, after a light aircraft crashed into a park. The pilot issued two distress calls before his Cessna 310 came down in Frank G Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas, 35 miles east of Los Angeles,

Pilot Michael Brand, 44, died in hospital and 12-year-old Jackie Ton and a baby boy, aged between 15 and 18 months, were killed after being hit by the aircraft.